a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid vehicle that makes use of one or more vertical wings for forward motion and incorporates a stabilizing torque system of jets in order to counterbalance any capsizing effect.
b) Brief Description of the Prior Art
It is of common practice to use vertical wings for forward motion in sailing boats.
It has also been suggested to use vertical wings for forward motion in other vehicles moving in a fluid, like air or water. By way of non-restrictive example, reference can be made to French laid-open patent application No. 2,744,094 to J. L. COUTURIER, which discloses a glider on top of which is mounted a wind sail operable by the pilot.
The problem with fluid vehicles that use vertical wings or sails for forward motion, is that the fluid that blows onto the wings or sails, does not exclusively generates a forward motion. Indeed, it may also generate a capsizing effect. In the particular case of sailing boats, this effect is usually counterbalanced by a dagger board or a center board. However, in other fluid vehicles such as gliders, aircrafts or submarines, such a counterbalancing is not easy to achieve.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved fluid vehicle that comprises one or more vertical wings in contact with the fluid for generating a forward motion. This fluid vehicle is improved in that it incorporates a stabilizing torque system for generating jets transverse to the forward motion for the purpose of counterbalancing any capsizing effect.
The vehicle according to the invention is devised for sailing in any kind of fluid, such as air or water. Preferably, it comprises at least one horizontal wing, and its stabilizing torque system is devised to generate jets up and down to opposite ends of the horizontal wing(s).
In accordance with the invention, the stabilizing torque system may comprise an engine-driven pump for compressing the fluid and generating the requested jets.
However, in accordance with a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, fluid pressure is generated by a windmill comprising revolving foils fixed to a rotatable shaft that is mounted in each of the horizontal wings forming parts of the vehicle. Propellers are fixed at the ends of the shaft to provide the requested fluid pressure for generating the up and down jets. Such jets are used for provide the requested stability, especially in the case of air flying vehicles. The fluid pressure may also be used to cool engine(s) and/or provide rear propulsion jet.
The fluid under pressure overflows from the propellers fixed to the ends of the shaft of the windmill(s) that are driven by their revolving foils that generate a Bernoulli effect for lift and forward pressure. The fluid enters the wings through slots provided at their front edges. As a bonus, the windmills located in the wings provide lift by Magnus effect.
Of course, a tilt activated control valve known per se must be used to measure clockwise and counterclockwise motion of the wing(s) and to stabilize this motion by supplying the fluid under pressure to nozzle(s) devised to produce said up and down jets for producing the requested countertorque. In other words, the valve is used for controlling the vertical up and down jets to provide the requested countertorque.
The fluid vehicle according to the invention may have an internal engine, a set of internal shrouded propellers or jets, or both. It may be in the form of a sailing aircraft, submarine, plane or car.
A detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention will now be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. Even though this preferred embodiment is an aircraft, the invention is not restricted to this type of vehicle exclusively. As a matter of fact, the invention actually encompasses other types of vehicles, such as, for examples, submarines for sailing in water using water currents for forward motion; sailing planes using wind connected to under water sailing vehicle which uses water currents; flying cars; etc. . . All of these vehicles may be regular, canard, magnet, gyro, amphibious or a combination of them.